Little Cents
by TopKat
Summary: 100 fics, various genres, slash included. Prompt 11: Orange. AxelRoxas, AU. Rated For Language.
1. Beginnings,DiZ, K Plus, drabble

**Prompt: Beginnings**

**Rating: K+**

**Pairing: None**

**I always wondered where the twilight gang began.**

**Beginnings**

"I need three."

DiZ frowned. "Three should take awhile. Personalities - everything, you'd like?"

"As much as possible. He's got to believe it."

"Alright. Two boys and a girl."

There was a lengthy pause, in which the hooded man behind him gave the question great thought. He sighed heavily. "The boy - he had two, did he not? A boy and a girl."

"You'd like me to recreate them for him?"

This time, 'Ansem' responded like a gunshot. "No. No, definitely not. We don't want similarities."

"...What did you have in mind, then?"

"I was actually thinking the opposite. Characters as far as possible from the other boy's young...comrades. Anything else could produce residual memory, couldn't it?"

DiZ laughed. "No, it couldn't. This boy knows nothing of Sora - if we waved the true boy in front of his face, I doubt he would recognise a thing."

"That's sort of sad." Ansem laughed softly, leaning on the table beside DiZ. "Not knowing your true self, I mean."

DiZ looked pointedly at him, but turned away without comment. He hummed. "Personality. Did Roxas have any friends in the Organization, perhaps? Anyone he had particular chemistry with?"

Ansem shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I heard tell that he was close with Axel - Demyx, too, maybe - but Axel's... unpredictable. He's harsh and fierce and...a bad influence, to put it mildly."

"But he was Roxas' _friend_. So we take the confidence...the little jokes, the silliness. Maybe we can make three people out of that. We could even make some parts of them look like him..." He clicked various settings on the computer, swerving back in his chair so that the cloaked man could see. Deep green eyes stared out of the computer.

"Maybe." Ansem conceded, frowning. "Put those eyes on the girl - but no redheads."

DiZ regarded him strangely. "As you wish."

---

"Ansem." DiZ said quietly, and the other man looked up from where he'd been sitting. "They're ready."

He was led down the corridor, only to stop three doors down and stare at the place where DiZ had pointed. He took a step forward, aghast. "Are these the three? His friends?"

DiZ nodded, and Ansem stepped forward to touch the cheek of the shortest boy, flinching back when this creature blinked gently. Brown eyes. The one beside him was the girl - green eyes, like he'd told DiZ, but long brown hair and a pleasant expression. The boy at the end had a struck-by-lightning hairstyle, deep brown eyes again. He was tall - good looking, too - and all of them were smiling serenely. Tanned, like they'd been left out in the sun too long.

Dolls. Just dolls.

"What are their names?" Ansem said softly, touching the girl's hair. DiZ coughed.

"Pence, Hayner and Olette."

"...where's Roxas?"

DiZ looked at the floor, but pointed towards a glass sphere in the corner of the room. Inside, a boy hung suspended, curled into a ball. He looked like he was sleeping, blonde hair slightly outgrown and hanging around his head in waves of gold. He was full of soft curves, gentle as anything - though Ansem knew the fierceness that dwelt within him.

Ansem looked from Roxas to the three dolls, and sighed.

"What a beginning."

DiZ only smiled in the silence, always calculating.


	2. Middles, Akuroku, T, fluffy

**Prompt: Middles**

**Rating: T (for language) **

**Pairing: Akuroku**

**The word 'middle' makes me think of bellies...-giggles-

* * *

**

**Middles**

Roxas was lying on the grass, and from here, everything looked beautiful.

He felt like a sap for just thinking it, but had little time to recover - Axel plopped down and was lying next to him on the grass, grinning up at the sky. "What'cha thinking about, Roxy?"

Roxas laughed. "How much I love being alone."

Axel laughed back at him, wriggling to get comfortable. "Well, I know where I'm not wanted..." He pillowed his hands behind his head. Roxas snorted.

"You know, when you say that, you're meant to leave."

"I know! You'd just miss me too much." Axel rolled over, leaning on one hand, and smirked. "Where'd your coat go?"

Roxas shrugged. "I left it back in my room. Why?"

"That shirt's a little small."

"...This is something pervy, isn't it?"

"'Fraid so. That's one gorgeous stomach you've got there, hun." Axel lifted a hand and put it on Roxas' middle, right over his exposed bellybutton. Roxas squirmed.

"fuck off. I'm ticklish." Axel giggled maniacally and like a shot, Roxas sat up. "Don't you dare!" He jumped to his feet, knocking Axel over in the process. "Get away from me!" The redhead grinned wide and stood, slowly advancing on Roxas with a serial killer glint in his eye. Roxas was laughing madly, so much that he couldn't breathe, and he doubled over. His tall friend caught him with ease, mercilessly digging his hands into Roxas' sides and laughing all the while. He backed the blonde into the building nearby, grinning still. Roxas looked at him.

"Why'd you stop?"

Axel shrugged. "I had a better idea." He put his hands on either side of Roxas, trapping him. "Any guesses?"

The blonde stared at him. "A-Axel..." He stammered, turning red. "Get lost. S'not funny."

His friend raised his eyebrows. "What's not funny? You're ticklish...why'd you complain when I stopped?"

"Because you'll rape me or something."

Axel leaned in close and laughed sharply. "You wish."

Roxas gave a little growl of frustration and frowned, the mirth having dissipated. "Then what the hell are you doing?"

Axel shrugged. "Testing you. Wondered if you could cope, when you haven't got the upper hand." He smirked. "You really are short, you know. Waaay too short."

Roxas growled again and leapt, making Axel sway on the spot and kissing him fiercely. "You're a fucking tease." He hissed, fisting his hands in the redhead's hair. "Why'd you make _me_ do it?" The redhead's face split in a grin and he shrugged, tickling Roxas' stomach again.

"Because I'm a fucking tease?"

Roxas just kissed him again.


	3. Ends, Sora,Riku, K Plus, Angst,spiritual

**Prompt: Ends**

**Rating: K+**

**Pairing: None, unless you're interpreting too deeply.**

**A rewrite of the end...Sora always seemed so prepared to die for his friends.**

**

* * *

**

**E****nds**

Riku looked around him.

The beach was colourless and empty, blank stars shining down on them from a vast and sadistically beautiful sky. The only company they had were the smooth grey rocks - the only music the silence. Waves washed gently over the sand, standing in front of the endless miles of ocean.

All around was calm, and peace. Sora tightened his grip around Riku's waist and gently tugged him onward. He looked worried.

"End of the road."

Sora nodded. "Yeah."

Maybe living alone wouldn't be so hard. There was no food, of course - not that he could see - but Kairi was safe. The king was safe. Everyone he cared about was safe now - safe, or at his side. he looked at the brunette.

"Sora." Immediately, the keybearer turned. He grinned brightly. showing rows of beautiful white teeth. Riku frowned in reply. "Sora, don't you know where we are?"

"Not really. Feels dark, though." He giggled. "Looks like it, too!"

Riku gaped at him. "Are you on drugs? There's no way out."

sora shrugged. "But everyone is safe." He smiled wistfully. "And I'm with you."

The older boy felt his heart constrict in his chest, and almost laughe - The one reminder that he still had a heart would always be Sora. "I never thought I'd hear you say that." Riku laughed, wavering a little, and Sora tightened his hold so they could stagger to the beach. They sat in the sand together.

"Do you think they know we're gone, Riku?"

The white-haired boy looked at him. "Well...yeah. Kairi and the king watched us go."

"No, I mean everyone else. Leon and Cloud and Aerith...everyone! Do you think they could sense it?"

Riku tilted his head towards the sky. "Yeah. They'll know you're gone, Sora." He smiled. "They love you."

"I know." The happiness in Sora's voice was drowned by the ocean's noise. "What about Kairi?"

"...What about her?"

"Will she be okay?" Sora bit his lip."She's all alone now."

Riku lifted his hand and squeezed his friend's shoulder gently. "She's strong, Sora. She'll be fine."

"Roxas won't get to see Namine again."

"Does he honestly care?"

Sora shrugged. "They weren't close, I know, but...it was someone to talk to, I guess. He'll miss that." Sora sighed. "Imagine that...he's all alone, now." Turning to Riku, he hugged the pale boy gently. "I'm glad you made it to the end with me. It wouldn't be the same if I died without you."

"Don't say that..." The older boy shivered. "You're not allowed to die."

Sora shrugged. "Why not? I've lived a relatively epic, happy life...I've met some great people...I've ruined some lives." He bit his lip. "but the keybearer is only there to lock and open doors, isn't he? What use am I, once I've done that?"

Riku slapped him across the back of the head, frowning. "_Don't say that_! You're Sora. We need you."

Sora leaned back and smiled, his head on the sand. "You can eat me when we get hungry." He laughed. "I probably taste nice."

"Probably." Riku smirked back at him. "But I'm bigger, so _you_ should eat _me_."

"Bigger is overrated. I'm tender...i'd taste better than your ropy muscles, old man."

"_Old_?" Riku gave a startled snort. "I'm just two years older than you!"

"And you're grey haired already!" Sora cackled, but sat up suddenly. "Oh my god, Riku...we're not going to get old."

Riku looked at him and saw that tears were already coursing down Sora's face.

"I'm never going to see Kairi again..." He sniffed heavily. "Are we just going to sit here, and wait?"

His friend smiled gently and leaned on Sora's shoulder, hefting himself to his feet. He stood shakily. "C'mon...you're making me look optimistic." Riku turned towards the ocean and slowly, jerkily, walked into it. When he was waist deep, he looked back, and held out his hand - he wavered but smiled, and Sora stared helplessly at him.

A bright light burst behind Riku's head, bathing him in white.

"The door has opened." Riku said softly, his hand still outstretched. "The door has opened, Sora." He trembled. "Take my hand, this time."

Sora did.


	4. Insides,Namine, T, Fantasy

**Prompt: Insides**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

* * *

Namine's stomach outright_ twisted,_ a version of pain she had never known. Of course, it could have been to do with her task. She knew somewhere inside her that emotion sometimes hurt, but had never before experienced it. 

She now wished it had remained that way.

The pain, she thought, didn't stab or slash at her, like a _usual pain _did. She knew _usual pain _like an old friend, from the times one of the Organization had decided to treat her as a puppet. She appreciated its company from time to time - of course, it was sometimes less than gentle, but what friend wasn't?

This felt different. It rose slowly from somewhere she couldn't place, just below her stomach but too deep to be sexual. It wafted up gently, consuming her organs as it went, and then plopped heavily on her heart and throat, its full weight realised.

Namine stopped for a moment, waiting for the sensation to leave.

She put her hand on her chest and frowned, puzzled.

The boy in the tank blinked owlishly at her, and Namine smiled, the feeling forgotten. She cooed at him. "Hey, Sora." She giggled. "You're growing so well...almost adult, now, aren't you? Not that I can tell..." Babbling still, Namine opened the tank's small window, right at the top, and grinned down at him. She had to use a ladder to reach this window, above the water level, and she ignored Sora's animal struggle to escape her. There wasn't much room for him to move, anymore...growing up had its disadvantages.

Reaching down with a tired sigh, Namine pressed each index finger to Sora's temples, and then pushed, hard.

Her fingers slipped through his skin and inside his head without so much as a sound, save the anguished whimper the brown-haired boy gasped out.

Namine wriggled her fingers experimentally, testing the air inside. Behind her eyes -if she knew how to look - she could see his memories, like schools of fish. She saw him with his mother and father - with Riku, and then Kairi, and countless others...she witnessed his most recent adventures in vivid colour.

These images had grown boring now, though the images of everyday things sometimes made her blush - how he would shrink back, nervous, whenever Kairi passed by, and maybe turn pink when his white-haired friend got too close.

Her fingertips staggered through the onslaught until she found what she had been looking for - the blank spaces. She touched an image of Riku - dark, cold and terrible, standing so proud and above Sora, denying their trust. She felt Sora shudder as he, too, was forced to remember - and then his confusion when the sensations ended abruptly, his mind blank.

"You've forgotten an awful lot, Sora.." She said softly, stroking the inside of his skull in a way she thought comforting - though he gasped and twisted under her hands. "Roxas is taking lots from you...Kairi and Riku and everyone else. Replacing his old ones..." She hummed a song she didn't know terribly well, tapping her fingers to the rhythm. Sora writhed. "He and Axel were so special, too. Friends without pain or hurt. Good friends..." She looked back into the room, ignoring for a moment Sora's memories that drifted around her hands. Her pictures lined the walls. "I drew them alot, you know, 'cause Axel used to come in and tell me what was going on." She giggled. "Some of the things he said were a little gross, but...I didn't mind. Axel was my friend. Even when he got angry. Even when Vexen got angry..."

She trailed off and peered back inside him once more, vaguely registering the noise from behind her.

"Namine."

She sluiced her fingers out of his head and turned gently, shaking her hands of the residue all over them. "Mmm?" Her pale head nodded at him, and the black-cloaked man strode over to her.

"What else has he forgotten?"

Namine grinned. "Lots and lots and lots! All the things we changed and all the things Roxas stole and everything..." She grinned wider. "Almost everything about you!"

The man's hands shook and she wondered if he was angry. Instead of shouting, he spoke. "Good." He said, and then turned to leave. Namine shut the globe's little trapdoor and stepped gently down the ladder, serene. She strode up and tapped the man's shoulder.

"Riku, when will you tell them?"

The man wrenched himself out of her grasp and took a couple of steps back. "If I knew, I wouldn't tell you. Keep out of my head." He pushed past her quickly and left the room. Namine heard his footsteps down the corridor - heard the door slam. She spoke to Sora again.

"Maybe it's better to forget _him_, mm, Sora? He didn't even say hello to you."

* * *

**Mah. I wanted this all macabre, and creepy, and shit, but all it came up as was drivel! **

**damn.**

**i like the idea of Namine putting her hands insides other people's heads, though...harharhar.**

**Maybe tasty numnum Rikusora or Akuroku next? I miss it. **

**ANYWAY. People, if you're going to read it, REVIEW. as you can see...i'm in desperate need of feedback (except from jess...iloveyouhavemybabiesyus?)**

**Rosie Mageee**


	5. Outsides, Demyx, K, Drabble

**Prompt: Outsides**

**Rating: K**

**Pairings: None**

* * *

Demyx could see outsides, just like he could see the stars overhead and the ground beneath him. 

But outsides were difficult, like puzzles he couldn't quite figure out, and they sometimes threw him for a loop before he could even react. Like the ocean, they had no pattern - one day his companions would glow with happiness, whether ill-gained or not, and other times they would drift, barely living.

The thing was, he_ knew_ outsides were difficult - but what they hid was even moreso.

**

* * *

GODDAMNIT.**

**This prompt gave me so much shit. serious, hardcore bullcrap. I've got a MILLION different versions, because 'outsides' is such a HUGE, ambiguous topic and...-pulls out hair- i've never had it this difficult before!**

**damnit.**

**anyway, enjoy... D:**


	6. Hours, Akuroku, K Plus, drabbley

**Prompt: Hours**

**Rating: K+**

**Pairings: Hinted Xigmyx, Akuroku**

* * *

Their relationship was built on the hours they stole. 

Between missions there was rarely a moment for boredom. Whether it was sleeping or preparing for the next task, every organization member was busy, always.

Xigbar made the observation one day at lunch, to a placative Demyx, over shitty ramen noodles. He lifted his fork into the air, anger fixed in a sneer on his face. "We don't get two minutes to ourselves." He grunted, stabbing with the once airborne fork to punctuate. "I'll bet Xemnas'd be a hell of alot friendlier if he got a break - but no. The only time I'm here is to keep myself-" He laughed bitterly,"_Alive_, and then - whoops! Ohshit! It's time to go again!" He growled. Demyx patted his arm awkwardly.

"It's only because we've got lots to do, Xig. We'll be fine eventually. Once we've got hearts, we'll have all the time in the world..." He smiled. Xigbar shot him a hateful glare.

"Alright, buttercup, whatever you say.All I know is that Axel is exceedingly cheerful and it's pissing me off." He gestured in a roundabout way to the redhead across the room - who was, ironically, grinning. "What the hell has he got to be cheerful about?" He snorted. "At least the kid's got the right idea." He gestured at Roxas, who was keeping his own distance from Axel. "Never seen him smile. Not once."

Demyx bit his lip. "Maybe Axel deals with things differently. He could be dying on the inside, Xiggy. You never know."

"I _do_ know." Xigbar told him, clutching the fork and shovelling the rank noodles into his mouth. "I_ always _know. He's happy, and I want to know why!"

The smaller, blonder boy shrugged and nodded, eating his own food with the same air of disgust. "Alright, Xig."

**XxX**

Curiosity always got him into trouble.

Demyx, unable to resist, sidled up to Axel once the redhead was alone. He smiled. "Hey!" -And was almost blinded when Axel turned and outright grinned, showing his rows of sharp white teeth.

"What's up, Dem?" He grinned slightly wider, and Demyx felt his own smile falter.

"Oh, nothing,nothing..." He looked the other Nobody in the eye with care. "So, um... what's got you in such a good mood?"

Axel laughed, loud. He tapped his the side of his large, sharp nose and winked. "Aha, that would be telling." He smirked. "See you around - I've got places to be. Missions, you know?"

"No! Axel, wait! Tell me!" He faltered when Axel just ignored him and kept walking. "Bugger."

And of course, Axel wasn't telling. He doubted he ever would - because the thing really keeping him so elated was a little pathetic, and not much of a reason, anyway.

Nevertheless, he smirked as he walked into the library, registering only dully the absence of Larxene. It was okay, though, because he had a prettier blonde to turn his attentions to. Roxas looked up when he walked in, and grudgingly moved aside.

"Hey, Roxy!" He leaned down and ruffled the boy's hair. "Sorry I'm late; Demyx wanted something."

Roxas turned the pages of his book boredly. "What'd he want?"

"Mmm, nothing." He leaned on Roxas' shoulder, peering into the book as he did so. "What's this?"

"It's called 'Kafka On The Shore'. It's weird."

"Weird how?" Axel furrowed his brows at it. "Subject-weird, or...sexy-weird?" He smirked, but it disappeared when Roxas shrugged.

"Both. Sort of. It's a little disturbing."

"Oh."

"Axel?" Roxas never tore his eyes from the book. "Are we friends?"

Axel leaned his elbow on the boy's shoulder, grinning when Roxas tried in vain to shrug him away. "Yeah, I think so."

"Oh. Good. Is that why you come here everyday?"

"Nah. I come here everyday because you're_ fifteen _and you read all day." He arched his brows. "I felt the need to put a stop to it."

Roxas folded the book in half. "You do a good job, asshole."

Axel just grabbed Roxas around the waist and pulled him gently into his lap, sighing. "Look at that. We've got nicknames already."

Roxas leaned back, aggravated. "Bastard." He turned from where he was sitting and looked Axel in the eye, making him feel vaguely giddy. "But why? Why me? It can't be because you're such a good samaritan."

The redhead chuckled. "Uh, no, it's not. Trust me." He moved his hands to clasp Roxas' face, grinning when Roxas turned his face away, making Axel's lips catch cheek. "Maybe I get bored."

"Maybe you need a better hobby."

No hour was the same, with Roxas. Maybe _that _was why.

**XxX**

"I couldn't find out, Xig..." They were walking briskly down the corridors together. "I'm sorry."

Xigbar rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter. It's probably something stupid."

Demyx hummed softly. "Maybe he's having sex."

It was _those _things, in their little hours, that kept Xigbar laughing all day.


	7. Days, Sorriku, K Plus, adventure

**Prompt: Days**

**Rating: K+**

**Pairings:Sora/Riku**

**Why does nobody ever write Kairi positively? If we develop her ourselves, we can make her into a stronger character. Though, g****ranted...She's still not as cool as Namine. Namine rocks. **

* * *

Ever since Riku and his friends returned, there had been more days than he'd known what to do with.

Ironically, he thought, there was very little destiny to be had on Destiny islands. Their time consisted of endless going to the beach, of playing in the sand or waves together - of trying (and failing) to teach Sora how to surf. Then there had been school - they saw everyone from the surrounding houses again, people who had assumed they were dead...or had emigrated. Kairi's parents had been shocked by her account of the kidnapping she'd suffered, though having been in the organization for awhile, Riku knew she'd been in little danger with Axel. Her mother had assumed the worst, blithering on about rape, until Sora had told Kairi firmly that she had to be assured otherwise. The ideas her mother was spouting failed to sit well with Roxas.

Riku's parents were gone. He didn't know quite why, and he didn't honestly care much - during the years before their 'adventures', Riku had practically lived with Sora and his family - not much changed once he literally did so.

The differences were in themselves, not the people they'd left behind. Kairi was her usual self, it seemed, but when Riku would randomly burst in on her sometimes, he caught her training herself - training to fight.

She was good.

Riku hadn't changed much. He still wanted to travel, still wanted off this island as soon as possible. The differences were in his stance, sometimes (scars that refused to heal) and in the way he felt for others (Sora was beautiful, and he wondered if that had always been the same).

Sora was a different story altogether. The bubbly, irrepressibly happy boy had been replaced by a more mature, slightly quieter double, who talked to himself when he thought no one was listening. When someone surprised him, Riku would see his fingers twitch for the keyblade, frowning when the instrument failed to appear.

But paranoia and problems hardly compared, now, to the things they'd seen - so dysfunctional and strange, they carried on. They always would.

Days got longer with each boring moment.

In school Riku's heart would start to pound strangely, not in the same way as his schoolboy crush or his fright - but with insistency. Sometimes he would have to pull himself out of class just to calm the urges - just so he wouldn't leap out of windows and run for the ocean.

What he was supposed to do after that, he didn't know, but after almost throwing himself into the sea, Riku decided to talk to Sora.

Sora didn't have much to offer him. After they'd talked things down, of course, Sora kissed him and that was lovely - but not what he'd come looking for and a little too late to make him feel giddy again. He felt mildly sad that the love of someone so pure and wonderful ceased to effect him, but that was fact and even the brunette knew it. It was both too late and too early for things to work.

So he took Riku's hand and took hold of his dream and they fetched Kairi, who had her daggers out again. She accidentally stabbed Sora with the tip of one, when they surprised her, but the scar (this time) would heal and the question, their plan, remained.

If the days wouldn't shorten, they had to do it themselves.


	8. Weeks, Twilight Gang, K Plus, Angst?

**Prompt: Weeks**

**Rating: K+**

**Pairings: None, (though there are hints)**

* * *

** Weeks**

It was Monday.

And so began the most eventful week of Hayner's young life - though a Pence would definitely have said it began on Sunday, an uneventful day, by all standards.

Pences were idiots.

On Monday, Hayner woke up and realised nothing was different.

He got dressed, brushed his teeth, and met Olette and Pence at the Usual Spot, and when they arrived they talked for ages until Hayner got restless. The others would then leave it to him to decide what to do, and this time the Great Hayner decided they would go to the Beach.

Pence said they'd been. He couldn't remember what they'd done, he said, but they'd definitely gone at some point.

The other two laughed at him. They found the money in the most surprising of places, found it cheaper than usual, and went to the beach.

And Hayner had fun.

On Tuesday, he woke up again.

He went to the Usual spot and Olette and Pence were late - but he didn't feel lonely. He remembered, vaguely, that even if Olette and Pence were late, he was never, ever lonely. Someone always got there first thing.

But he supposed he was keeping himself company - there was no-one else around.

The thought made him feel strange.

When Olette and Pence turned up, eventually, they'd been shopping - Pence looked flushed from walking and blushing in the presence of poor, oblivious Olette, and the latter was just happy to have bought things. She told them both what she'd bought, even though - as Pence hastened to remind her - one of them already knew, and then frowned slightly.

"We met Seifer and his lot." Her face twisted a little, but in a pretty way. Hayner found that Olette did everything in a 'pretty way'. "They've challenged you to a Struggle match tomorrow."

"Where and when?" Hayner grinned, eager.

"On the Sandlot, as usual. Where else?" She crossed her legs on the crate she was sitting on, and began to rifle through her shopping bags, picking out the bracelets and necklaces she liked best. "He looked mad at you for something. Said you wouldn't beat him again!" She grinned. "But I think that was a lie."

Hayner nodded. He smiled wider. "Pence, spar with me-" He looked Pence up and down, considering. "Actually - Olette, would you?"

Pence frowned but shrugged it off, knowing that the small girl was a far better challenge than himself.

"I'd love to."

And Hayner had more fun.

But that wasn't the eventful bit, Hayner said on Sunday. It was just the beginning.

On Wednesday, He heard voices.

Outside his window were Pence and Olette, calling frantically. He stared blearily at them - Olette was throwing pebbles, and he flinched when one hit his window, blinking. He opened the window, dodged another pebble and shouted down at them.

"I'll be there!" He was drowned by the wind around his head. "I promise!"

He felt vaguely dizzy as he dressed, and even vaguer as he stepped outside, missing breakfast, his Struggle bat clutched firmly in his hand. Olette patted him. "Are you okay? You look pale." He shook his head.

"I'm fine! Must just be nervous." He straightened and chuckled. "But no need, eh? If I can beat you, Olette-" He smirked at her "- then Seifer's just a moving target." His two friends nodded at him, and Hayner tripped down the stairs to the Sandlot, blinking as the sunlight swam in front of him. Seifer was there, as usual - his little friends outnumbered them, Hayner thought vaguely.

But this was one on one.

The struggle battle had been led up to - dramatic. A turning-point of his young life.

In the end, though, it would always be a fight with fake swords.

Hayner fell to his knees in surprisingly little time, tried to stand and found that he couldn't move - but the ground did, fading in and out until there was nothing but black.

He woke up on Thursday.

He felt fine. The dizziness was gone, zapped from existence, and he found he had more energy than before. He went with Olette and Pence to goad Seifer, despite their loss - to challenge the white-haired narcissist to another match.

They met at the clocktower and had ice-cream, dangling their legs over the edge with easy smiles, easy conversation - but Olette eyed Hayner with curiosity.

"Hayner." She said softly, their silence unusual. "You're crying."

He looked at her and put a hand on his face, frowning when he brought his hand back wet, and realised the pressure in his brain was releasing.

He hadn't realised it was there in the first place.

And all of a sudden they were all in tears, streaming with it - the clock tower became a solitary and strange place. They sat for hours - until midnight - and then decided to go home. They didn't speak until their faces were dry, ready to face their prying parents.

Ready to sleep again.

On Friday, he felt heavy.

Olette and Pence were at home. He had called to no avail - for once in his life he'd chased after his friends, and they hadn't let him catch them. Olette's mother said she was out. Pence's dad said he was on a walk - but it didn't matter.

They all ended up in the same place, anyway.

The abandoned mansion whispered things to them through overgrown ivy bushes, and Hayner spoke to his friends. They'd met in silence.

"Let's go inside."

They nodded at him and pushed through the gate - it was already open, and it didn't even creak as Hayner led the way through the garden. This, in itself, was a strange place - there were statues all around, of women and children and men; and on them were marks, like the slashes of a heavy sword, burned into their cold, hard flesh.

They visited the white room, and it was empty. "No ghosts." Said Pence with a laugh - but Hayner traced his fingers over the pictures, wondering who the artist had been.

"I don't even know why I came here." He said quietly - Olette was the first to nod, but Pence was absorbed by a pack of crayons, lying still on the table.

"We should leave."

They agreed. Hayner left them with smiles and hugs, for some reason feeling like it was the last time he would see them in a long while - or the last time they would see him, at least.

On Saturday, they didn't cross paths.

All that day he saw neither hide nor hair of Pence or Olette; but this was no surprise. He skirted past the Usual Spot, instead visiting the clocktower once more, and peering over the edge. He imagined what it would be to fall off the edge and never, ever land.

He realised what was missing.

The presence in his mind finally quietened, but Hayner couldn't console himself - all his voice would say was 'Roxas', burning with frustration and anger and misery. He choked the name to the air, his lips forming nothing else with volume, and for a moment he thought he would say nothing else.

He felt his feet go numb and the backs of his eyes get colder.

The sensation that now lived inside him was a breathing, moving entity - it never ended, and shifted from one end of his body to the other, occupying head, heart, knee, toe. Each one shook, feeling heavy, until Hayner fell asleep on top of that tower and part of him begged not to wake up alone ever again.

On Sunday, it ended.

He woke and felt the liquid surround his head, flashes of black and blue in his eyes.

Everything behind his face felt frozen, and when he moved his eyes, they wouldn't focus. Every second a new flash - of falling off the tower - of liquid and experiments and cold apathy from all faces - Of being asleep and drifting forever. He rolled over, mind jumbling, forgetting nothing but 'Roxas', 'Roxas', because he knew it was important and he had to hold on, forever if he could. His legs went numb again. His heart disappeared.

Olette and Pence arrived - they righted him, muttered mundane things in his ears, desperate. '"Your mother is worried." They said, and he calmed for a second until the flashes began again. He whispered to them too - the name, over and over, but they didn't understand. They just held him, their faces streaming with tears.

Late in the day, he knew all that was left was the tower.

Later, he didn't know anything but ice cream, newcomers and games.

A Pence would have said it was a beginning - that if nothing really ended, it was just replaced, then it couldn't be a proper 'ending' at all.

Pences were idiots.

* * *

**A longish one, by my standards...yay? I dunno.**

** The next oneshot is new, since I remembered I missed out two prompts (whoops), but I had one of them written down in my little handydandy notebook! Cool for me, I know. that was the next one along, that you'll hopefully read - the one after that is just to set the order right, and this one was spontaneous. **

** I like the ending, though. **

**Love, Katie. **

* * *


	9. Months roxas,Zexion, T, Spiritual

"Twelve months til next christmas."

"Thank god."

They were lying in the gas station, air conditioning on full blast and yet still the heat sept in through the windows and floors, making their faces red and their shirts sweaty. The dimestore-clerk life was even less glamorous than people made it out to be, as Zexion and Roxas had so quickly found out. It also didn't help that worrisome husbands and middle-aged women with children were filtering in and out now, children demanding sweeties and parents too dead to the world to argue. They handed in their money for however many thousand sugar-filled treats like zombies, and sped away in similar fashion, paying for gas on their way out. It was the end-of-christmas rush there now, though it was drawing close to midnight; and still the heat was cooking their already fried carcasses. Nobody ever said an Australian summer was forgiving.

Roxas moved out back to greet the delivery man, Axel – he always did. Zexion knew about their little relationship, their shared kisses, the occasional – _loud_ – bathroom fucks. He thought very little of it, deeming that at his age relationships should mean very little, never mind that he knew Roxas scarcely thought of anyone but the red-headed man who drove an arctic lorry from border to border and visited every week.

Zexion himself had had very few relationships; there was the man with dark hair who had come through once, stayed a few hours and kissed him, the blonde musician who had stayed for five days, talking and laughing with him, before disappearing as quickly as he had arrived and taking, it seemed, Zexion's heart with him – and they were the accountable ones. There were others. It just seemed that they never struck as much of a chord with him, for him to remember them, particularly. The heat and the sweat and the conversation all blended together after awhile in the heat.

Alone at the counter, Zexion struggled to amuse himself – he stacked dollar bills in the register, flicked through a woman's magazine – he swore blind he read them for the articles – and thought to himself, quietly, trying to ignore the sounds of frenzied kissing – and god knows what else – from not far away. Soon Roxas would return, looking pleasantly ravished, and would probably consider his and the delivery man's time together for the duration of the next week .

So he thought, as he so often did, on how long they would be here, earning money for a trip they would never go on, pursuing dreams they would never achieve. The empty road out of the window beckoned shamelessly – and Zexion wondered how many weeks, days or months it would be before they finally drove up it.


	10. Red, Demyx, Luxord, K, General

**Red**

"Red sky at night…"

Demyx didn't bother finishing Luxord's half-said fable for him. Instead, he directed his eyes straight at the heavens, almost unblinking, until the british man beside him cast cautious eyes his way.

"What's up, Dem? It's the sunset. See it all the time."

"Do we?" He said quietly, tearing his eyes way to look at Luxord, instead. The other man bowed his head a little, scuffed his feet.

"Surely _he_ had enough of them before…?"

Demyx's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "Maybe _he_ did. I don't know; I'm not _him_."

Luxord chuckled softly. "Two weeks, and you're already into existentialisim. You only just _started _existing lately!"

"What better time to start thinking about it? When I can still remember what it felt like?"

The older man winced. "Well do you want to?"

"Don't want to forget."

Luxord put a hand on Demyx's shoulder, tone soft. "It's better to, mate. Honestly."

"Have you forgotten?"

His ability to ask such innocent questions often blindsided Luxord in the strangest way. He supposed it was because to be bonny and blithe…well, the qualities just didn't exist in their organisation. Certainly, in any case, not before Demyx had arrived. He was so young, by their standards, and yet he asked all the questions they had no answers to. Luxord turned from the rapidly setting sun to face the wide plains that had once been behind them, tugging Demyx with him. Demyx smiled gently.

"Red sky at night, shepherd's delight. How did we both know?"

Luxord shrugged. "That's better to forget, too."


	11. Orange, AxelRoxas,K,AU

"Orange?"

"If you please."

Axel threw the bright fruit in Roxas' direction and it was deftly caught, peeled and chewed, segment by segment, by the little blonde boy who sat on the kitchen table. They grinned at eachother, and Axel, inside his head, breathed a long-held sigh of relief. Living with his best friend wasn't so hard. Unlike, it seemed, the rest of his friends, Axel had some semblance of control. Roxas was just one of those unattainable people; and it wasn't just Axel who couldn't attain him. He'd spoken to the girls, and practically every one of them had asked. If he didn't know better he'd have taken that as a big fat homo sign; but these were different times. Maybe fifty years ago, _"I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship"_ meant_ "That wasn't just experimenting in College"_, but nowadays? Who knew. Maybe he actually valued friendships above romance (though why, Axel would never know).

In any case, it was a better set-up than he'd ever before imagined. The boy was sitting on his counter-top, eating fruit. Fucking brilliant. And he looked like he was just as cheerful as Axel was.

Roxas finished the last segment and sighed, leaning back on the table. "I'm glad you asked me to move in with you."

Axel opened the cupboard and flicked the kettle on to boil. "Oh, yeah?" he said absently, rummaging.

"I think you're hot."

Axel, a credit to his calm attitude, did not pause in getting mugs and teabags out before the kettle boiled. He put the teabags in mugs, then turned around, not trusting himself with the boiling water. "Really?" He squeaked, masculinity failing him for a not-so-brief moment.

Roxas nodded, smiling.

"Huh." As he processed this, Roxas hopped off the counter and poured the hot water into the mug, then busied himself finishing the tea.

"Sugar?"

Axel, leaning on the counter, rather dazed, looked at him. "Yeah. Sure."

"Full fat, Axel?"

"I figure I need it." He took the proffered mug, sipping in a ridiculous attempt to look demure, to look unflappable. Roxas clearly wasn't buying it, laughter in his eyes, but he said nothing. They looked at eachother.

"So you want to rent a movie?"

"Sure."

And they did.


End file.
